Power Rangers Revelation: White Conscience
by White Tiger
Summary: *Chapter 2 is up* A deadly return, a destructive confrontation, and a dangerous decision
1. How could it be?

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Disclaimer: Saban owns everyone but Damien.

Special thanks to: You, Dani and her friend Bika. Thanks for reading this stuff! (And Dani, I'll get an all Kim fic out soon. I promise!)

Timeline: This happens about two days after "Shadow from the Past."

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White Conscience: Part 1

By White Tiger

Prologue

He was slightly aware of the rain pounding on his armor, but it meant nothing to him. The coldness inside of him outlasted the cold weather out here. He watched the woman in the room across the street, her pale figure motionless on the hospital bed. He cursed everything in the world at that moment. Zedd for causing this. Zordon for bringing him back into this whole mess. 

Himself for not being able to protect her.

He heard a slight buzzing sound through the rain, and a few seconds later felt someone's hand on his shoulder. "Go away," he growled. He didn't want company now. 

He wanted vengeance.

"C'mon, Tommy. It's time to go," the Blue Ranger said from behind him. "I'll take over watch."

Thinking over his options, Tommy finally gave in. He hadn't slept or eaten a decent meal in days, fatigue was beginning to catch up to him, and he wasn't even sure if the cafeteria breakfast he had eaten that morning in the hospital had even been meant for human consumption.

"Fine," he mumbled. "I'll go. You'll be relieved at midnight."

"Midnight. Gotcha," Billy confirmed as Tommy teleported out. '_I just hope _I_ can last that long,'_ he thought sadly. Tommy had been pulling shifts as often as he could, despite his obvious decline in physical health. This situation brought out the worst in him. It brought out the worst in everybody.

Billy had to admit, things were going to Hell in a handcart. And there was nothing he could do about it.

****

One Chance...

Adam wiped his face off with the towel, hating the situation the team was in. "This totally sucks!" he complained to no one in particular.

"What? The fact that Kimberly's been hospitalized and we can't do a thing about it? Or the fact that Tommy's been turned into a total zombie and won't be able to even think clearly, much less fight, if and when we get called into battle?" Rocky called from across the dojo.

"Both," Adam replied grimly. "I mean, before it was always just a simple routine. Go to school, have a crisis, fight the monster of the day that exploited that crisis, destroy it, and still try to get back home in time for dinner and homework."

"Yeah, I know," Rocky said quietly. "Zedd's really gone off the deep end this time. He must really want us dead."

"He's always wanted us dead, Rocky," Adam retorted. "It's just that that was always a secondary goal. Taking over the world was his first focus. Now it's like he's going to take us out first by any means he can think of."

"A good theory, but there's a problem with it," Rocky stated. "Zedd's only been sending Robowarriors down for the past couple of days. No monster, no spell, no messing with natural events, no nothing. He's not taking advantage of our problems now. It doesn't make sense!"

As if to refute the Red Ranger's declaration, a familiar six-toned beep sounded from his communicator. Bringing the wrist device up to his lips, Rocky pressed the button that would allow him to talk to whoever sent the signal. "Red Ranger here, what's up?"

"Rocky," Zordon rumbled over the speaker. "Another squad of Robowarriors is attacking in the downtown district near the hospital. You must morph there immediately."

The two best friends looked at each other, sharing the same thought. _'Zedd's gone too far this time.' _ "We're on it, Zordon," Adam assured his mentor as the two summoned their morphers.

"Red Dragon, ENERGIZE!" Rocky called.

"Black Lion, ENERGIZE!" Adam yelled. The two disappeared in colored flashes of light.

************************

Aisha backed off, trying to catch her breath. This batch of Robowarriors seemed tougher to handle than the last. They wouldn't go down without leaving at least one or two more marks on her suit from their lasers. "We could really use a little help right about now!" she screamed to Billy, who was fighting off his own group with his Power Lance.

"Somebody call for the cavalry?" 

Looking up, the Yellow Ranger spotted reinforcements. Rocky and Adam had just teleported onto the scene, ready to fight. "Well, are you boys gonna just stand there and watch or do you wanna join in?" she called up to them.

The two male Rangers took a moment to share a quick glance before turning back to Aisha. "Hell, yeah!" they screamed together. Both of them summoned their Power Weapons and joined the fray.

"Why. Won't. You. Stupid. Tin. Cans. Back. Off!" Adam yelled, emphasizing each word with a mighty slash from his Power Ax. The weapon had been incredibly heavy the last time he had used it, but anger was one of the most powerful strength enhancers. And at this point, Adam was extremely ticked.

Rocky was no better off. He hacked and slashed at the robots like a blender from Hell, and he showed no signs of tiring. His Power Sword was a blur of fiery red and metallic silver as it sliced and diced through enough metal and wires to build an entire aircraft carrier. But no matter how hard he fought, there just seemed to be no end to the waves of machines. "Don't these guys ever give up?!" the Red Ranger exclaimed.

Just then, the strangest thing happened. All of the Robowarriors froze for a split second, then disappeared straight into thin air.

Breathing heavily for a few minutes, the four Rangers took in their surroundings. Several buildings had been pockmarked with laser blasts, but there was no other visible damage. Some civilians had taken a few bruises, but once again there was no serious damage.

"Okay, would somebody mind telling me why Zedd's going through all this trouble?" Billy queried. "After all, why waste the time and resources sending down a bunch of foot soldiers to attack and not even do anything serious?"

"You got me, Blue," Adam said quietly. "You got me."

************************

Up on the moon, a figure watched the short battle with surprisingly minor interest. Shrouded in darkness, he tapped four metallic fingers against his throne, signaling his impatience. The battle was of no concern to him. It was merely something to keep the Rangers on their toes. '_Such a shame that the White Ranger couldn't make it today,'_ the figure mused. He had studied the Ranger as he watched his beloved in the hospital. The sight nearly made him sick. If he could only send a squad of Robowarriors to dispose of that pesky fool...

...but no. It was a waste and he knew it. The White Ranger would tear them to shreds in minutes, if not seconds. Waiting was a better idea. He monitored the man's decline in both physical health and emotional stability. In another few hours, his fighter would be ready. _'So sad that poor Tommy couldn't complete his mission the last time. He should have learned the lesson long ago._

'Never give your enemies a chance.'

************************

It was happening again. He saw the armor, the blood, everything. He saw his claws pierce his opponent's heart, ripping the organ out. But he saw it from a distance, as if through someone else's eyes. Then something changed. The dream became different. The heart evaporated, burning up and disappearing like dust. The man stood up again, ready to attack!

Tommy bolted upright, sweating like a waterfall. It was another dream, just like the one he had had before Damien's attack. Shaking his head, Tommy ran his hands through his long brown hair. "Man, all this dream shit is really starting to get on my nerves!" he mumbled. Swinging his feet around, Tommy got up from the cot he had been sleeping on in one of the sleeping quarters of the Command Center. Checking the nearby chronometer, he read the numbers 11:00. "Damn," Tommy muttered as he started moving towards the main chamber.

"Is there a reason for this nocturnal journey, White Ranger?" Zordon asked from his dimensional tube.

Tommy stumbled in surprise. He hadn't expected his mentor to be 'awake' at such a late hour. "Not really, Zordon. Just thought I'd get a good workout before going to relieve Billy of his watch."

"For some reason I sense that you are lying to me, Tommy," the interdimensional being scolded. "Please tell me what is going on."

Slightly miffed, Tommy decided to go ahead and tell Zordon what had been happening to him. "It all started the night you gave us our Powers. I started having these really weird dreams, like a premonition of sorts. They showed me someone else wearing the Green Ranger armor. I never saw his face or anything, that was always the part where I woke up. But before that, I saw the other Rangers. Not the team we've got now, but the first one, with Jason and Zack and Trini. Then some voice started telling me who they were and what kind of personality traits they possessed." At this, Tommy paused to ponder something. "Come to think of it, that voice was the exact same one that helped me out during the fight!"

"Would you care to elaborate on this statement?" Zordon asked.

Tapping two fingers to the side of his head, Tommy continued. "It was even weirder than the dreams. Damien had been ready to kill me, and he had the strength to do it too. I was too tired to do much of anything except delay him while I tried to come up with something. Then, everything seemed to slow down. The voice from my dream came out of nowhere and told me...I can't really remember what it said, but I know it started this really freaky process.

"I started to drain Damien's energy. His armor turned gray, mine was replaced, and all of my injuries had been healed. Later I figured out that I had drained the life right out of him. And, well, that's the whole story."

Zordon paused, thinking over all of the information his lead Ranger had given him. _'Should I really tell him?'_ the ancient wizard thought. _'Would he understand? Could he handle the tests?'_ Looking down at the young man before him, Zordon made up his mind.

"Tommy, there is something I need to tell you."

************************

Billy groaned wearily as his head bobbed up and down for what had to be the hundredth time in an hour. He was tired from the fight earlier, and just sitting around monitoring Kimberly all day had otherwise proven to be very uneventful. With a thought, Billy brought up the chronometer on his helmet display. "11:00. This is going to be one long hour," the Blue Ranger mumbled.

"Designate: William Cranston, Blue Ranger. Prepare for termination."

Whirling around, Billy spotted a squad of about fifty Robowarriors standing there, blasters ready. He groaned in disgust. In a flash of deep blue, the Power Lance appeared in his hands. "Guess I stand corrected," he mumbled under his breath.

"Destroy him!" one of the mechanicals ordered. The Robowarriors fanned out, trying to surround the Blue Ranger. But he was no fool. Billy instantly began twirling his Lance in long and complicated patterns, something Jason had taught him to when they began as Rangers. Each spin and twirl sliced through a Robowarrior at some vital point or another. Several laser blasts flew, but they were deflected by the Lance as it kept spinning faster and faster. Just as he was about finished with the group before him, a shower of sparks sprung from his back and sent him sprawling forward. "What the...?!" he yelled in surprise. Another squad of Robowarriors had just teleported to the fight.

Standing back up, Billy whipped his Lance around in a few circles to loosen up his muscles. "This is gonna be one _long_ night." 

************************

**BREEE! BREEE! BREEE!**

"What's going on?" Tommy asked as he moved to the view screen.

"Billy is in trouble. Robowarriors have begun attacking him near the hospital," Zordon said from his tube. "The situation appears very grave."

Tommy froze at the mention of the hospital. "Kim," he whispered.

"I'll contact the other Rangers. Go help him, Tommy," Zordon ordered. But the White Ranger was already gone.

************************

"You bolt brains are really starting to get on my nerves!" Billy yelled as he slashed through several more robots. "Don't you ever _quit?!_"

"No, but neither do I!" a voice shot from out of the darkness. In a flash of white, Tommy appeared on the scene and began tearing through the Robowarriors. "Did you scrap heads miss me?" he yelled sarcastically at the machines.

The Blue Ranger stood there in amazement. Apparently Tommy's fatigue had no effect on his anger. _'So much for him being a zombie in our next fight,'_ he thought, captivated by the White Ranger's blurred movements as he clawed, slashed and shredded through hundreds of steel figures. His growls of rage echoed through the night as he flew through the Robowarriors with the viciousness of a meat grinder.

"Robowarriors, halt!" a voice commanded. The mechanicals stopped dead in their tracks as a flash heralded the arrival of another fighter.

Tommy's eyes nearly popped out of his skull when he saw who it was.

Damien. 

************************

"Okay, Zordon. We're on our way," Rocky answered sleepily. Cutting the line with the Command Center, he tried to shake Adam awake. "C'mon, Bro, it's time to go to work again." The Black Ranger merely mumbled something in his sleep and rolled over.

"The man said to get up, sleepy head!" Aisha exclaimed with a whack to Adam's head with a pillow.

"Ow!!" the Black Ranger exclaimed, bolting upright. "Geez, some houseguest you are," he moaned playfully.

"Can it," Rocky interrupted. "We've got a situation at the hospital." He summoned his morpher. "Red Dragon, ENERGIZE!"

"Black Lion, ENERGIZE!"

"Yellow Griffin, ENERGIZE!" Aisha finished the cry as the three teleported off to join the battle.

************************

The three Rangers arrived to find a very odd scene. Everything on the street was frozen. Billy, the Robowarriors, Tommy, everything. But something else really caught everyone off guard.

"Damien!?" Rocky exclaimed. "He should be dead!"

"You fools thought that your little pet tiger could defeat me?" he mused. "It takes more than that to destroy a member of Lord Zedd's army!"

"We'll see about that," Tommy interrupted. "I don't know how you were able to get here, but I'm sending you back...in pieces."

With no more words wasted, the two leaped at each other. Tommy clawed brutally at the weaponless Green Ranger, but he dodged every attempt with unbelievable speed and countered with a mighty uppercut to Tommy's jaw. If it weren't for his helmet, the White Ranger would have blacked out. He backed up a few steps to regain his balance, but Damien followed him with a whirling tornado kick that sent him crashing to the ground.

"C'mon guys!" Rocky ordered. "Let's help him out!"

"Wait!" Billy shouted. "We can't let those Robowarriors loose!"

"Billy's right," Adam stated. "We need to take care of them first. Tommy can handle himself." The four Rangers agreed and began heading towards the mass of machines.

************************

Damien stumbled back, his ribs aching from the bone-crushing kick Tommy had delivered. It was his turn to be on the defensive once again as the White Ranger came rushing at him with Power Claws extended. With a thought, Damien summoned a ball of lightning in his hands. "Take this, you weakling!" he screamed. The lightning flew forward and struck Tommy full in the chest, sending him careening backwards.

But Tommy had learned a new trick as well.

Rolling with the momentum of the blast, Tommy back flipped and slammed his feet against the wall he had formerly been on a collision course with. The near 50 miles per hour impact almost broke his legs, but it also created a springboard effect like no other. The White Ranger went flying back to Damien at an insane speed, ready to kill.

_'What does it take to kill this fool?!'_ the Green Ranger thought savagely. He focused his Powers into the Dragon Shield, making it glow with energy. _'Perhaps this will help rid me of that nuisance.'_ He fired a diamond-shaped beam of electricity straight into Tommy.

The next and only thing Tommy knew was blinding pain. His vision was blurred with a sickening green light, and his armor sparked and flickered as the White Powers tried to compensate for the strain they were being put under. In the end they failed, and Tommy was once again launched backwards to a building.

The wall didn't stop his trip. He ended up crashing straight through it and into an apartment. Thanking whoever lived there that they decided to stay out that night, he tumbled through several tables and chairs. A small metallic cylinder followed his entrance, and Tommy slowly got up to see what it was. He saw an LED counter on a display screen counting down....

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

"Oh shit."

************************

Rocky leaped up just in time to avoid becoming a barbecue. Whipping out his Blade Blaster, he returned fire to the Robowarriors and slashed through the group of four that was waiting for him upon landing.

"Hey Rocky! Did you see what just happened to Tommy?" Adam called over his helmet-comm. 

"Yeah," Rocky gasped back. "That looked like it really hurt. And I didn't like the looks of that thing Damien tossed up after him." Seconds later, and explosion shattered the building Tommy had been thrown to, sending a shockwave across the entire block.

"What the..?!" Rocky exclaimed. The Robowarriors had frozen and were sparking at the joints. They fell apart a half second later.

"Would somebody mind telling me what's going on?" Aisha asked, worried.

"I think that explosive device must have..." Before Billy could finish his sentence, a barrage of earsplitting static came in over the helmet communication systems. The four Rangers screamed in pain as their eardrums protested the sensory overload. Before anything else could happen, they disappeared in four flashes of colored light.

************************

"Ooh," Tommy moaned. "Just when you think you've been blown up in _every_ possible way..." His entire body ached. His legs, his back, his arms, his head. "Even my _armor_ hurts," he complained to himself. Finally opening his eyes, Tommy saw that his helmet was useless. Static filled the visor where technical readouts should be, and there was an annoying screeching coming from his comm system, but it still wasn't anything compared to the ringing in his ears.

Taking a look around to make sure no one was watching, Tommy slammed his Power Claws through the visor, coming within inches of his own face. With a shattering like that of broken glass the visor fell to the ground in shards.

"Why can't you just **die**?!" Damien ranted from several yards away. He fired several blasts of lightning from his hands in Tommy's general direction, but the White Ranger was still alert enough to flip away. He dodged the final blast with a flip that took him onto the hood of a parked car.

"I thought you'd have learned by now, Rookie," Tommy mocked with a hint of distaste. "After all, Hell hath no fury like an extremely pissed off boyfriend."

Tommy launched himself off the car, his Claws directed for Damien's stomach and spinning like a tornado. The Green Ranger was too slow and ended up with the White Ranger's deadly weapons embedded in his armor. They spun around and around, cutting through layers of armor and flesh on each rotation. Screaming in a mix of pain, panic, and anger, Damien slammed his fist straight through Tommy's helmet. The White Ranger dropped like a stone, almost paralyzed by the crushing blow to his face. Tommy pressed a hand in through the remnants of his helmet, trying to stop the blood flowing from his nose. His glove was nearly soaked crimson by the time he could see straight enough to fight.

But when he looked up, Damien was gone.

************************

A bright flash of white heralded Tommy's entrance to the Command Center. His nose had stopped bleeding, and he had no doubt that it was almost broken, but that did nothing to cool his insane edge. "Would somebody mind telling me how the **hell** Damien is still alive?!" he shouted.

"Tommy, please calm yourself," Zordon counseled. "I believe that I can offer an explanation. Lord Zedd has been draining energy from the moon's core and is using it to power some sort of device in his palace. It might be some sort of regeneration chamber that could have brought Damien back to life."

The White Ranger swore violently under his breath. Then, turning to Billy with a look of worry in his eyes he asked, "What happened out there? After the explosion you guys just...**left**."

Billy and Adam looked at each other, then back at Tommy. "There was more to that bomb than what we realized," Billy said quietly.

"It gave off some sort of shockwave," Adam picked up. "Some kind of electromagnetic pulse. It took out all our mechanical systems, as well as those within a three block radius." He paused. "Including the hospital."

Tommy paled considerably. "Is she...?"

"No. Not yet, anyway. They hooked her up to life support as soon as they could, but things don't look good." Adam couldn't help but let a tear come out of the corner of his eye. He felt Aisha holding his hand, trying to give him the strength he needed to give the news. "The records say that...that she might not...make it through the night."

The White Ranger just stood there for what had to be nearly three minutes of pure silence. "And they say there's nothing they can do?" he asked in a choked up voice. The Blue Ranger nodded his head. "What about me?"

"What about you?" Aisha asked sorrowfully.

Tommy didn't say a word to her, but walked up to Billy. "What if I tried doing what Zordon did me when he brought back the Green Ranger Powers?"

Billy shook his head slightly. "Negative. That would be to dangerous. You could end up permanently injured or even killed."

Something inside of Tommy snapped. "Then what do you want me to do, Genius?!" he yelled in the blond man's face. "Just stand around here so you can come up with some stupid plan while Kimberly's life hangs in the balance?! To hell with it! I'm going!" In another flash of white, he was gone.

"Tommy, wait! Dammit!"

"Please remain calm, Billy," Zordon said tranquilly. "I have faith that Tommy knows what he is doing. There is nothing you can do to stop him."

Rocky only stood there, shaking his head.

"We're screwed." 

************************

The sight of her nearly broke his heart. She was so frail, so weak with all the machinery hooked up to her. Her skin was pail, and the heart monitor nearby beeped at almost a crawling rate. She was, for all purposes, practically dead.

Tommy caressed her cheek with his hand. Almost seven years ago, she would have instinctively leaned into his touch. Such an intimate gesture was lost between them now, and would be forever if he didn't do something.

Summoning his morpher, Tommy slid the Power Coin out of its compartment and placed it on Kimberly's forehead. Leaning over, he kissed her delicately on the lips. "Goodbye, Princess," he whispered. "I love you."

He activated the morpher. Pain surged through him as it tapped into his life force, the only other power supply without his Coin. It eventually locked onto that, too, and the Coin began glowing white as it began energizing. The glow spread around Kimberly's body as Tommy began to tremble from weakness. White turned to pink as Kimberly's own Powers intertwined with the White Powers. Tommy had to restrain himself from screaming, the pain was so great.

Then, in a bright flash, he was gone.

****

To Be Continued....


	2. Is there hope?

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Disclaimer: See Part 1

****

White Conscience Part 2

By White Tiger

****

Prologue

Darkness.

That was the only word she could think of to describe her surroundings. Everything was pure black. She waited to see if her eyes would adjust to it. They didn't, much to her dismay. 

_'Where am I?'_ she wondered. There wasn't a single place on Earth that was this dark. Even a moonless midnight in the middle of nowhere was lighter than this. Then, a strange thought struck her. _'Am I even **on** Earth?'_

'Am I even....alive?'

The last thought scared her more than anything. Death wasn't exactly a foreign concept to her. She had certainly faced it more than once, and feared it each time, but that had never stopped her. It had, in fact, made her stronger. However, if she was already dead, how could she fight Death?

_No, Kimberly, you are not dead._

The voice scared her. She tried to scream, but found that her throat would not respond. She tried asking several questions, but each attempt was useless as her vocal chords refused to work.

_Just relax. I'm coming to help you._

Something about the voice was familiar. Too familiar. But the entity the voice belonged to remained a mystery to her. She only felt a deep sense of overwhelming calm wash over her. She felt that she could trust this voice.

That's when things got ugly.

A brilliant flash of light illuminated the darkness, instantly blinding her. Fire washed over her body, burning through her from the inside. Her entire world seemed to shatter, torn apart by the excruciating pain that exploded from her head. She shut her eyes and tried to scream again, with the same maddening results as before. Surely this pain would overcome her, the fire destroy her...

Kimberly Hart bolted upright in the hospital bed, her sweat streaked body trembling from the torture it had just undergone. The heart monitor nearby was going haywire, almost flat lining. She shook her head slightly, trying to rid herself of the memory of the pain.

As she did so, a small golden coin fell from her forehead. Staring, Kimberly picked it up and studied it. Her face paled even more than it was when she saw the design on the coin. A tear slowly fell from her eye as she realized who's it was.

"Tommy." 

****

The Nightmare Continues...

"C'mon, Kimberly. You need to eat **something**." Billy tried, in vain, to coax his childhood friend into taking in some nourishment. She had adamantly refused any attempt at comfort for the past twenty-four hours since she had found out what Tommy had done to save her life.

"I said I'm not hungry," the Pink Ranger mumbled, almost to herself. She was actually half-starved, but had decided not to show it. All she wanted was to be left alone. Why couldn't anybody understand that? Just a little time to sort things out and absorb what had happened, and she'd be as good as new. Couldn't they see that?

"What is wrong with you, Kimberly?" Billy asked, slightly annoyed. "I told you, Tommy will be fine. We just need a little time to get the energy we need to bring him back. There's no need for you to torture yourself like..."

"Like what?!" Kimberly exploded. "Like what Tommy did is all **my** fault?! Well, guess what, Brainiac?! IT ISN'T! And I don't need a scientist to tell me that! I'm perfectly fine! I just want to be left alone! Why can't any of you see that?!"

"Look, Kim, I know you're upset but..."

"Just shut the hell up!!" the petite girl snapped. "I've had enough of you messing around in my life!" With that, she jumped out of her chair and bolted out the door.

***********************************

Rocky and Adam sat back in their chairs, both letting out a long sigh. They were bored, to say the least. After nearly being killed twice in a few days, three straight hours of paperwork for their karate school was rather tedious. The silence replaced the explosions they had been forced to get used to again. After a while, Adam stood up.

"I just can't **take** this!" he exclaimed. "We're just sitting around waiting for Zedd to attack! And now that Kimberly's gone half psycho and Tommy's disappeared to who knows where, he's got us right where he wants us!"

Rocky stood up as well, stretching some of the muscles in his sore back. "I know. The whole situation stinks like hell. Especially with Damien still alive. How could things **get** any worse?"

Before the Black Ranger could answer his friend's question, the door to their dojo flew open and a voice called out "Rocky! Adam! You in here?" The two jogged out of their office to see who had come in. They were surprised to see Kimberly standing there, looking extremely tense.

"What is it, Kim?" Adam asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied, even though her stature betrayed her. "I was walking down the street and had this sudden urge to do some martial arts. So, naturally, I thought I'd come here."

Now the guys **knew** something was up. Kimberly had never been interested in karate, except enough to keep her balanced with the team on the battlefield. Even then Tommy had to practically beg her to be taught. The fact that she had willingly come on her own to practice was something that set off an alarm in both Rangers' minds.

"Um, okay," Rocky said slowly. "You wanna use the equipment or do you feel like sparring with somebody?"

"Spar." Her answer was almost instantaneous.

"I'll do it," Adam volunteered. "You get back to those papers." Rocky nodded and went back into the office as the Pink and Black Rangers stepped onto the practice mats. "No holding back?"

Kimberly only glared at him. She struck out with a lightning fast kick that Adam barely managed to block. _'I guess that means "No".'_

For the next several minutes they traded blows. Adam could hardly keep up with all the kicks and punches that his petite opponent was throwing his way. She was like a cloud that had been waiting for the right moment before releasing a thunderstorm. He groaned as she nailed him in the solar plexus with a tornado kick the likes of which Adam had never seen her perform. Surprised that nothing was bleeding, he fell to the ground with a shout, landing on his back. Kimberly slammed her palm into his chest, signaling the end of the match.

Both were sweating like waterfalls, and nothing but the heavy sound of Adam's rapid breathing could be heard. Kimberly barely made a noise. But that wasn't what really surprised the Black Ranger. It was Kimberly's eyes.

They were glowing white.

***********************************

_'Revenge,'_ he thought darkly. _'I must have my revenge.'_ He felt himself faltering, the transfer taking its toll on him. _'No matter. Soon I will have the ultimate weapon the likes of which those Rangers can not face. Without their precious White Ranger, they are lost weaklings.'_ The whirr that had surrounded him for several hours finally died down, signaling that the transfer was finished. A figure stepped from the chamber. "Go," he rasped. "Destroy."

The figure's eyes glowed red under the visor of his helmet. He nodded, and a wickedly curved sword appeared in his hand. Soon after, he teleported out.

***********************************

"Kim," Adam gasped. "Are you okay?"

"What are you talking about?" Kimberly asked. She felt fine, just...stronger. And faster. _'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all,'_ she thought grimly.

"Your eyes, Kim. Your eyes are...glowing."

Kimberly said nothing, but reached into the back pocket of her shorts. She pulled out a small compact mirror and flicked it open. Taking a quick look, she gasped. "What the hell?!" she exclaimed softly.

Then, without warning, she doubled over with a groan of pain. Adam was immediately at her side. "What's happening, Kim?" he asked worriedly.

The white glow in her eyes became brighter. "I...I don't...know," she gasped.

***********************************

He woke up to a headache that would have taken out a mountain. _'What hit me?'_ he wondered. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw that wherever he was, it was white. Pure white. What really gave him a start was that there were no floors, walls, ceilings, stairs, doors, or any other object that indicated a room. He tried to call out, but no words came from his lips. _'What's going on here?'_

***Ah, so you have arrived***

He whirled around, trying to shout out a threat to the voice that came into his head. He wanted so badly to yell at the moment.

***It won't do you any good* **the voice said again. ***Words have no use here. Only thoughts are registered***

_'Okay, can you hear me now?'_ he asked impatiently.

***Loud and clear, my friend***

_'Fine then. First question: Who are you and where the hell am I?'_

***Please, I must ask you to calm down. All questions will be answered in time. I can sense that you have many. First off, you are in the spirit world. Prematurely, I might add. To answer the other question, I am afraid that you will have to pass the tests***

_'What tests?' _he thought at the new entity. _'What are you talking about?'_

***You must prove that you are truly Tommy Oliver, the White Ranger of the Revelation Powers***

_'Revelation Powers?'_ Tommy wondered. _'I'm guessing he means the new one's Zordon gave us.'_

***Precisely*** Tommy tried to jump back, but found that he had no physical body with which to do so. He also calmed down after remembering that thoughts were the only way of communication here, so thinking of something would be just like saying it out loud back home.

_'Okay,' _Tommy thought slowly. _'What tests are you talking about, and why do I need to pass them to know who you are?'_ The entity said nothing, but the White Ranger felt a deep sense of dread come over him.

***Oh my. This is bad. This is very, very bad***

_'What is it? What's going on?'_ Tommy didn't have the ability to do much in this world, but he decided that gathering information on what was happening could prove very useful.

***There is a deep imbalance in the UniForce***

_'The what?'_ Tommy asked, confused.

***The UniForce. It is the connection of the life forces of all living things. Someone is tampering with it greatly***

_'How? Is there anything I can do to help?'_ The young man may not have known much about this...whatever it was...but he could sense that his assistance might be needed.

***I'm afraid that there is nothing you can do at the moment but sit and watch*** the entity rumbled in Tommy's head. ***Still, perhaps it may be a good idea to let you see what is happening*** With that, several images flowed into the White Ranger's mind, almost like he was watching a movie. As he saw everything happen, he couldn't help but think of two words that he had already uttered once to express his feelings.

_'Oh, shit.'_

***********************************

"Well? What's the prognosis?"

Billy shook his head. "This doesn't make sense. It just...doesn't. Things like this don't happen. It shouldn't be possible."

"What shouldn't be possible?" Kimberly asked from the scanning bed.

"When Rocky and Adam teleported you here, the Command Center's systems automatically scanned you for anything that could be a problem in your body. It didn't find anything, but..."

"But what?" the Pink Ranger asked impatiently.

"The computer found something that was a little _too_ right with your body. Apparently Tommy's little 'stunt' had more side effects than we imagined." Receiving only a stare in reply, the genius continued. "You've absorbed nearly everything about him. Your body is twice as strong, fast, and enduring. You've also apparently inherited his martial arts talent, which explains why you nailed Adam on the mats." He noticed that the Black Ranger winced slightly at the thought.

Before anything else could happen, the alarms screeched as the Command Center's scanners detected a disturbance. "What's going on?" Aisha asked as the Rangers automatically assembled around the view screen. What they saw didn't shock or surprise them, but it certainly flared several tempers.

"Damien," Kimberly growled.

"I'm afraid that he has recovered from his last battle," Zordon stated. "You must go and stop him."

"We're on it, Zordon," Rocky said as he summoned his morpher.

"Wait," Kimberly ordered. "I know how Damien thinks. He won't go down without a fight."

"Like kickin' his ass last time was any easier?" the Red Ranger asked sarcastically.

Kimberly glared. "He's no fool. He'll have learned from the mistakes he made last time. My bet is he found some way to get stronger. We should bring along some backup."

"What do you have in mind?" Adam asked her.

"The Sword of Power."

"Kimberly," Billy said softly. "We need all the Rangers together to summon the Sword."

She turned at him with vengeance in her eyes. "We **are** all the Rangers."

Shrugging, everyone gathered into a circle, thrusting their arms into the center. "Sword of Power!" they called. The Sword appeared in Kimberly's hands as they all teleported off to battle.

***********************************

The five Rangers appeared on the battle scene, fully morphed and with Kimberly wielding the Sword of Power. They stood as Damien approached, fully armored and swinging a sword of his own. Several Robowarriors appeared behind him. "Take out the metal heads!" the Pink Ranger ordered. "I'll take care of the Green Ranger."

Everyone spread out in a now familiar pattern. They summoned their weapons and began waylaying the mechanicals. Kimberly and Damien stood, staring each other down.

"I always knew the day would come," Damien growled, "when I would be forced to kill you. And now I have the means to do so." He charged, faster than normal, towards his opponent.

Kimberly ran forward and flipped over him. She instantly twirled and slashed the Green Ranger across the back. Every one of her senses became enhanced as she got caught up in the rush of battle. The two Rangers slashed and parried with a more frightening ferocity than both previous battles between the White and Green Rangers combined. The Pink Ranger's frame seemed somewhat enhanced, and she used everything she had. Blocking a wide blow from Damien, she spun in a tornado kick that sent him reeling. She then followed up with one of her favorite moves: a forward crescent kick right to the facemask. The Green Ranger backed off for a couple of minutes, which allowed Kimberly to catch her breath.

"Ready to die yet, you son of a bitch?" she gasped.

"Oh, I've only just begun to have my fun!" he snickered. He launched a bolt of lightning from his palm, striking the Pink Ranger right in the chest. "Lord Zedd has made me more powerful than before! You will **never** defeat me!" His hands glowed green, and several more lightning bolts lashed out at Kimberly, striking her several times a piece. She screamed and writhed in pain as her armor was scorched. Smirking under his helmet, Damien stopped the attack.

"Is...that....the best....you've...got?" Kimberly choked out as she slowly rose to her feet.

"Not by far, my dear."

The Pink Ranger glared at him, even though he could not see it. "Well...I'm still...standing....So...bring...it....ON!"

The green glow around Damien's hands became even brighter. He formed a large ball of crackling energy between his palms. "Then you shall die." With that, he hurled the ball at Kimberly.

The energy struck her full force, but she stood her ground, held by some unseen power. Her screams echoed across the buildings, and all the action around them halted to watch. Her body began to glow a hot pink, the Sword of Power vibrating in her hand.

Then things really got strange.

Her armor began to flicker, like a TV image that was filled with static. Another figure seemed to appear in her place, but flickered out just as quick as it appeared. The Sword of Power glowed even brighter, almost as if it was absorbing the power that had been thrown at it. Then she was blown back in a cloud of smoke.

***********************************

Tommy watched as his beloved was hurled back against a wall. _'Kimberly! NO!!'_ Before he could think anything else, a burning pain shot through his body. _'AAAAAAARRRRGGHHHH!!!!!'_ he mentally screamed. In a flash of white brighter than his surroundings, Tommy's essence disappeared from the spirit world.

***********************************

The Rangers watched in silence as Kimberly lay on the street, scorched, unmoving. Everyone was thinking the exact same thing. _'It can't be.'_

But that wasn't all that caught their attention. The cloud of smoke that she had been thrown from wasn't dissipating like normal. Instead, it only grew thicker. Then, it seemed to collapse in on itself, creating a figure. In a few minutes, the cloud became solid. Standing there, fully morphed, was the White Ranger.

Everybody was silent for a full two minutes as Tommy looked around. He spotted Damien, and unleashed his Power Claws with a growl.

"Ding ding! Round 2!" Rocky shouted.

As if on cue, the Green and White Rangers charged at each other. Wasting no words, they began to attack each other like crazed madmen.

"This could get ugly," Rocky mumbled.

***********************************

_'Ooooh. How the hell am I still alive?'_ Kimberly couldn't help but wonder from her position on the ground. She painfully turned her head around to see Damien battling with someone else. _'Please, don't let that be any one of the other Rangers,'_ she thought desperately. As her vision cleared, she soon saw through the rain that was beginning to fall who it really was. _'Tommy? How did he...?'_ She lightly shook her head, trying to clear it. _'Never mind that, now. I've gotta help him...'_ At the slightest movement, however, pain sent her falling back down. _'Dammit! How am I supposed to help like this?!'_

***You must stay calm***

"What?" Kimberly gasped weakly.

***Relax. Let the Power flow through you. Let it flow like the wind***

As if by magic, she felt a slight breeze against her skin, _through_ her armor. It cooled her body, forcing her tightened muscles to relax themselves. As the gentle wind blew itself across her, Kimberly felt herself grow stronger. The gust picked up, and before long she could feel the wind rushing against her. She stood up quickly and ran to where Tommy and Damien were fighting, interrupting their battle with a loud "Hi-yaa!" and a powerful kick to the Green Ranger's chest. "Tommy!" she cried, tossing the Sword of Power to her boyfriend.

He caught it with all the ease of years of practice just in time to block Damien's next strike. The other Rangers and Robowarriors had formed a large circle around the combatants, creating an arena-style battle.

With the added strength of the White Ranger, Kimberly found that fighting Damien was a lot easier. She summoned her Power Bow and used its sharp pointed ends as a close range weapon. Together they struck, parried, and counter struck, but the Green Ranger was still too tough for them to take down. He dodged a neck swipe from Tommy, punching the White Ranger in the stomach and whirling around to block a slash from Kimberly. Just as Tommy recovered, Damien kicked him in the stomach again and spun to drive his sword through the man's back. Kimberly couldn't stop him, but she threw him off guard and made him strike Tommy in the shoulder instead. With the rain beginning to pour, Damien tossed a lightning bolt straight into Kimberly's helmet, forcing her back. With a cry of rage, Tommy surged forward. The Sword of Power gleamed in his hand as he slashed and tore at the Green Ranger.

But Damien persisted still.

Moving faster than the eye could see, he grabbed Tommy's wrist with one hand and his neck with the other. In a feat of fathomless strength, he lifted the White Ranger into the air. "Are you ready to finally die?" he taunted.

Then, the wind began to pick up. The rain, instead of falling straight down, began to curve towards him. It pounded against his visor, clouding his vision. He couldn't see where the White Ranger's head was!

"What is happening?" he shouted.

"I will not let you do this!" a voice screamed.

Tossing his prey down the ground, Damien turned to see that is was Kimberly who made the statement. "And who's going to stop me? You?" he scoffed.

The rain stopped twisting toward him. Kimberly stared. "I don't have to," she said simply.

Caught unawares, Damien whirled back to Tommy, but he was too late. The White Ranger thrust the Sword into Damien's stomach. "You have something that belongs to me," he hissed as he withdrew the blade. He quickly ripped the morpher from Damien's belt, instantly demorphing the Green Ranger, who fell to the ground in a heap.

"You'll....never....win..." the man whispered.

Kimberly walked over slowly to stand beside Tommy. She hoped he would finish things once and for all. 

Instead, he handed the Sword to her.

"This is **your** demon, Kim," he whispered. "And it's time for you to defeat it."

Nodding in understanding, she raised the sword high. "Face it, you bastard. It's over."

In one quick swipe, she decapitated him.

***********************************

****

Epilogue

A couple of days afterward, Tommy and Kimberly met up at the park, wanting to talk alone.

"Why did you do what you did?" Kimberly asked him slowly.

Tommy hesitated. "I was...just...afraid of losing you, I guess."

"Then why couldn't you wait for Billy to come up with something?"

He shook his head. "It's about something that happened a long time ago."

"I'm listening," she assured him as she sat down under a tree.

"Well, okay. But the details are pretty ugly..." he warned. Looking into his girlfriend's eyes, he saw her give a look that said she wouldn't take no for an answer. He sighed. "It all happened in the Countdown. Jason and I were at the city limits, fighting for our lives. As you can probably guess, things weren't going very well. We didn't even have anything to morph with like Adam said he had done when he helped out the Astro Rangers." Tommy paused, thinking of what to say next. "That's when Zedd showed up. He stood there, taunting us. Jase and I wanted so bad to go over there and wipe the smirk off of what face he had under that mask. But, he had something else up his sleeve." His eyes began to moisten, but he continued. "He brought out our families. Somehow, he had kidnapped them, started using them as hostages. His goons got hold of us, made us watch as he executed them...one by one..." Tears were starting to flow, and Kimberly put an arm around him for encouragement. "He...he **killed **them! Every one of them. That's why I couldn't wait. I didn't want to lose anyone else..." At this point Tommy lost all control. He broke down and started crying in his hands.

"Shhh, it's gonna be okay," Kimberly said, as if she were comforting a child. "You haven't lost me. I'm right here." She lifted his head, forcing her to look at him. "You'll never lose me again, Tommy. I love you, and I will sacrifice anything to be with you. We **will** be together. No matter what."

The two embraced, both crying tears of pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow. Their arms wrapped around each other in a bond that would never be broken.

Not by man.

Not by machine.

Not by hate.

They were together. Now....

And forever.


End file.
